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Understanding the motivations of Victorian recreational fishers
Simon Conron & Sandy Morison, PIRVic Queenscliff, Department of Primary Industries
January 2004 | FN0572 |
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Victorians go fishing for a number of reasons but principally to relax and unwind, according to the results of the National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey (NRIFS).
The NRIFS provides comprehensive profiles of recreational fishing activities at regional, state and national levels and was funded by each state and territory government, the Australian Government’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and the Fisheries Action Program of the Natural Heritage Trust.
Many factors have been suggested as reasons why people fish, including their psychological state, the physical environment, social interactions and the state of fish stocks. By understanding these motivations, it is hoped that fisheries managers will be able to provide better quality opportunities for recreational fishers. The NRIFS therefore explored Australians motivations for going fishing.
Fishers were asked to rate eight factors according to their importance (very, quite, not very or not at all) as reasons or motives for going fishing:
- to relax or unwind,
- to be outdoors, in the fresh air, to enjoy nature,
- to be on your own, to get away from people,
- to spend time with family,
- for the enjoyment or sport of catching fish,
- to catch fresh fish for food,
- to spend time with friends, and
- to compete in fishing tournaments.
Nationally the vast majority of fishers (>90%) ranked relaxing or unwinding and being outdoors as important factors. Other factors that were highly rated, were fishing for enjoyment or sport (82% of fishers), to be with friends (73%) and family (69%) and catching fish for food (61%). Only a small proportion of fishers nationally (5%) considered competing in fishing competitions as important motivation for going fishing. A little over 40% of the fishers surveyed considered getting away from people was important.
Victorians motivations for fishing were similar to those expressed nationally. When considering the primary motivations for fishing, Victorians ranked to relax and unwind (43%), to be outdoors (15%) and fishing for the enjoyment of catching a fish (15%) as the top three reasons for going fishing. Enjoying the company of family and friends was also an important motivation for Victorian fishers (collectively identified by 19% of fishers).
While the survey identified psychological, social and environmental reasons for going fishing, Mr Sandy Morison, a senior fisheries scientist from PIRVic Queenscliff says the expectation of catching a fish is also very important.
“To escape from the pressures of modern living while enjoying the company of family and friends in a natural environment are apparently powerful motivators,” Mr Morison says.
"Enjoyment of the recreational, social and sporting aspects of fishing was identified as the key reasons for Victorians to go fishing, and most fishers don’t place a high importance on fishing for food."
The Victorian information gained from the NRIFS will help ensure that the state’s fisheries are managed in a sustainable way, as this information allows the relevant authorities to plan and cater for recreational fishing opportunities into the future.
The national report of the NRIFS is available at www.affa.gov.au/recfishsurvey
For more information about this project please contact Simon Conron at Marine and Freshwater Systems PIRVic Queenscliff on 03 5258 0235.
The advice provided in this publication is intended as a source of information only. The State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.
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